Method of making pipe-bends.



mwmg.

N. T. McKEE.

METHOD OF MAKiNG PIPE BENDS.

APPLICA'HON FILED APR. 10, I916.

Patented Sept. 5, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I N. T. McKEE.

METHOD OF MAKING PIPE BENDS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 10. I916.

H ,1 y m Putentedfiept. 5, 1916.

V S-SHEET 2.

2 SHEET I I 6- 7/6 q To all whom it may; aim-m NEAL TRTMBLE MCKEEE, TNJE'W YORK, A$$IGNGR T0 LUCGIBIIOTIVE SUPER- HElt'llERCflltlItEtIt-l'li, U35. NEW YGRK, N. iii, A CORPORATION OF DELAW'ABE.

METHUJD OF MAKING PIPE-BEEEDE.

menses.

Be it known that I, NEAL llnnprnnn Md Ken, a citizen of thellnitedState's, residing at Yonkers, New York, have invented certain newand useful Improvements in Methods of Making Pipe-Bends, of which thefollowing is specification.

My invention relates to pipe-bends, and

more particularly to that type of pipebends made by the processdescribed in a patent issued jointly to Charles H. True and myself onJanuary 25, 1916, under Number 1,169,209; in which process a die isused, described in a patent issued to us on September 28, 1-915, andnumbered 1,155,109. 1

The object of the present invention is to produce an improved pipe-bendof the type referred to, and to make the process of making it easier andmore certain.

My invention will be readily understood from the following descriptiontaken in con nection with the accompanying drawings forming part of thespecification and illustrating the preferred form of my invention.

In these drawings-Figure 1 represents a perspective view of the lowerhalf of the female die embodying my improvement; Fig. 2 shows a medianvertical section, with portions broken away, of the upper and I lowerhalves of the female die, and the male die, as well as the partlycompleted pipe bend; Fig. 3 is a plan View of the parts shown in Fig. 2,the upper half of the female die, however, being omitted, and thepartially completed pipe-bend being shown in section; Figs. 4 and 5 showa top plan and an end elevation respectively of one of the halves of thefemale die; Fig.6 shows in perspective the lower half of a die used incompleting the pipe bend; Fig. 7 is a plan view of the same with theuncompleted pipebend in situ and before the operation of this die hasbeen performed; Fig. 8 is a similar view after the operation; Fig. 9 isa median section of the die, with the bend in position; Fig. 10 is aplan View of the completed bend; and Fig. 11 is a section on line 11--11of ig. it).

he improvement is embodied particu' larly in the die shown in Figs. 1 to5, the remaining figures and the description pertaining to them beinginserted largely to make clear the relation of the improvement to thelater steps in the process.

specification of Letters Patent.

Patented dept. 5, Jldld.

Application died April 10, 1916. Serial No.30,075.

As will berseen from Figs. 1 to 5, the improved die is identical in mostrespects with the die hitherto used. It consists essentially of twoportions-the female die, comprising the lower half 1 and the upper halfand the male member, or breeches piece, 3. The latter has not beenmodified in any way for the present improvement, but is substantially ofthe form employed in this art for some time past.

The female die has in each of its two halves the usual two,semi-cylindrical, par

allel grooves at, separated from each other by the wall 5 of the usualconformation. The novel feature is the shallow groove or depression 6.In plan this groove is crescent shaped, as shown in Fig. 4, its greatestdepth being preferably substantially uniform. The line of greatestdepth, 7, runs in general parallel to the two edges 8 and 9 of thegroove, being nearer the former,

however. From the point of greatest depth the surface slopes upuniformly toward the edges 8 and 9. As indicated in Fig. 2, each half ofthe female die has a groove such as described, the two lying onedirectly above the other when the die halves are in place, splthat in aplan view the two would coin- C]( e.

The die illustrated by Figs. 6 to 9 is used to complete the pipe-bendbegun with the die of Figs. 1 to 5. This second die, it will be noted,is essentially of the form used in the past for this step in theprocess, The depression 12--1212 is of such form that it gives thecompleted pipe-bend the desired external shape. The two halves 13 and 13of the die are symmetrical.

In the operation of the die first described the principal featuresremain as in the process as hitherto practised. The two pipe ends l010which it is proposed to join are properly heated and placed in positionand clamped between the two halves of the female die, whereupon thebreeches die 3 is caused by mechanism unnecessary .here to describe toperform its movement toward and into the female die and the'two pipeends, slitting the latter, pressing the'portions of the pipes adjacentto the slits outward, thereby causing the proper edges to abut and bewelded to each other. This, it-will be seen, is precisely the process ashitherto practised.- The new feature may be described the die, they areplaced into and clamped in such position that during the operationtheshoulder 11 of the breeches die comes into contact with the ends of thepipes before it has quite completed its inward stroke. The consecuientendwise pressure causes the metal to be upset and fill the grooves 6. Itthe pipes are properly placed, the grooves 6 will be just filled by theupset material. The form of the inchoate pipe-bend at this stage isshown particularly in Figs. 3 and 7. It dii'l erst'rom the form obtainedby the die of the usual form by having the ridge 1.4, corresponding togroove 6. The incomplete bend is next placed in the second die 13, asshownin Fig. 7. \Yhen so placed the point 15 of the pipe bend coincideswith 15' of the edge 01": the depression in die 13;while the portionsl6l(i of the bend protrude a little beyond the points 16'-. 16 of thisedge. The upper die 13 is then brought down by suitablemechanism untilit'assumes the rela- I tive positioninchcated m Fig. 9, whereby the"pipe-bend is given the form indicatecbnn the same figure and inFig'. 8.The bend is then completed by removing the surplus material 17 bysuitable means along the curved line 18, and welding the two edgestogether along the same line by means of an oXy-aeteylene flame or otherpreferred means. The object of thickening the material at the pointsindicated, by the means described, will now be more readily appreciated.This final weld is made more readily on account of the presence of theextra material, and the weld when made is better. Moreover thethickening of the wall of the bend at this point-is of considerableadvantage in connection with the use to which these bends have beenlargely put, c. the use in. super-heaters of the smoke-tube type. Inthese superheaters some of the return bends are in the path of the hotgases which impinge directly on the end of the bend. The impro edformgiven to the pi pe-bends by the present'method supplies additionalresisting powerjust where it needed.

lvl anii'estiy certain variations may be made in the apparatus and inthe method de' scribed. For example, it may prove desirable, in somecases, to employ an intermediate die, which partly closes the end of theincomplete bend, the die of Figs. 6 to 9 then completing the process.Such variations evidently come within the spirit and are thought to bewithin the scope of the appending claims.

What I consider as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patentis: i

1. The process of making pipe-bends comprising the steps of suitablyheating the pipes to be joined, slitting each of them for a certaindistance from the end, pressing the portions adjacent to the slitsoutward, causing the edges of the portions so bent outward of one of thepipes to abut against the corresponding edges of the other therebycausing a'weld, increasing the thickness of the walls over an areaadjacent to the end of the finished pipe-bend, and closing the pipebend.

2. The process of making pipe-bends comprising the steps of suitablyheating the pipes to be joined; simultaneously slitting both of them fora certain distance fromthe end; simultaneously pressing outward theportions of both adjacent to the slits, thereby causing thecorresponding edges of the portions so bent out to abut and becomewelded; upsetting the material of the walls over an area extendingsubstantially around the incomplete pipe-bend; closing the pipe-bend andremoving the material beyond the upset portions.

3. The process of making pipe-bends comprising the simultaneous steps ofslitting two suitably heated pipes for a certain distance from. theirends, pressing outward the portions of both adjacent to the slits,thereby causing the corresponding edges of these portions to abut andbecome welded, and upsetting the material of the walls over an areaextending substantially around the incomplete pipe-bend; and the stepsof closing the pipe-bend and removing the material beyond the upsetportions.

NEAL "lltlMBLE MeKEE.

